A Not So Ordinary Evening
by Gator-Girl1
Summary: A one-shot/missing scene from the "Pilot" episode featuring Jimmy Taylor and family.


"A Not-So Ordinary Evening"

Rating: PG (Adult Language).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: This is a one-shot/missing scene from the Pilot originally written to be part of a larger fiction that won't be happening. It's been sitting on my hard drive for a couple of months. So, I thought I might as well share it with the world.  
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"What are you doing here?" Margaret asked in exasperation as she watched Bill Kohler walk in her kitchen with her husband, Jimmy Taylor, in tow.

"Nice to see you, too," Bill sarcastically replied.

"Jimmy, what's he doing here?" she asked pointedly as she pulled another plate out the cabinet. She turned to Bill, "I thought you had a date with Candy or Katrina or whatever her name is."

Jimmy kissed his wife and gave her a sheepish look. He gave her a hug as he whispered in her ear, "Sorry."

As Bill opened the refrigerator to pull out a beer, he replied, "It was Kathy and she had something come up."

"Yeah right," Margaret said under her breath as she angrily watched him open the bottle and leave the cap on the counter instead of the trashcan which was only two feet away.

"I heard that," Bill complained as he left the kitchen to go sit on the couch in the family room.

"I saw the front door is fixed. Did your dad come by today?" Jimmy asked in an attempt to diffuse the situation by changing the subject. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed himself a beer. After opening the bottle, he picked up the bottle cap left by Bill and his own and threw them in the trash.

"Yeah, he left me a cute note," Margaret replied pointing at the refrigerator door. On the door was a note with only the words "Love, Your Handyman" in purple crayon. "He must have come and went when I was asleep."

"Where is he anyway?" Bill asked from the family room.

"I assume he's with my brothers," Margaret answered obviously annoyed as she went back to preparing dinner at the stove.

"I mean doesn't he usually eat dinner with you guys," Bill corrected.

"Dad understands that I worked nights last night and that I maybe got three hours of sleep today before I had to go to church and entertain a bunch of first and second graders," Margaret complained gruffly. She couldn't believe that Jimmy had invited Bill over for dinner tonight. She was pissed off. It wasn't that Bill was all that much more trouble. It was that when Bill was around, Jimmy went from a loving understanding husband to a Neanderthal expecting Margaret to take care of everything.

On any other night, it wouldn't have been that big a deal, but tonight she was tired from the busy night she'd had at work. As the "Physician on duty," she'd spent the greater part of the night transferring three patients to Rogue River. What was even more annoying was that she wasn't even really a doctor. She was a physician's assistant who normally worked in pediatrics during the day part-time, but had agreed to work the night shift because one of the other doctors had called in sick.

"Where are the kids?" Jimmy asked as he noticed that it was too quiet in the house.

"Timeout," Margaret replied. "If you want to spring 'em, go on ahead." Jimmy knew an order when he heard one.

Jimmy sat his beer down on the counter and headed for the kids' rooms. He went to Sally's room first and saw her sitting on her bed pouting. Once she saw him, Sally ran into Jimmy's arms to get a hug. Once she let go, he asked, "So what exactly got you in here?"

"Woody wouldn't let me have a turn playing the 'Wonkey Rabbits,'" Sally replied.

Jimmy automatically knew that they'd been fighting over the video game system again. "Am I going to have to take it away for good?" Jimmy asked his daughter.

"No, Daddy. I promise I'll be good," Sally replied looking at him with her big blue eyes pleading.

"Alright, you can go out to the family room and watch TV," Jimmy said and with those words, the little girl was barreling out of her room and down the hall.

Jimmy then went next door to his son Woody's room and saw him reading a book on his bed. "Hey Woody," Jimmy called out trying to get his son's attention.

"Hi, Daddy," Woody replied without moving from his spot or looking up from his book. At the age of nine, he was getting too old to go running to his father's arms when he came home.

"So, I heard you were fighting with your sister again," Jimmy offered as he sat down on his son's bed and swiped the book from Woody's hands.

"Yes, Daddy," Woody answered with a pout. "But it's all her fault. She started it."

Jimmy shook his head already knowing exactly what happened without hearing both sides. "You wouldn't let her have a turn. What have your mom and I said about the video games?"

"I have to let Sally have a turn," Woody whined.

"If you two can't handle taking turns, I'm just going to have to take them away forever."

"Yes, Daddy."

"Alright, you're free and Woody, don't cause your mom anymore headaches tonight. She worked last night and is really tired."

"Okay," Woody replied as he got up from his bed and ran to the living room.

"And no running in the house!" Jimmy yelled after his son shaking his head. He got up from his son's bed and headed back to the kitchen to get back to his beer and find out how soon dinner was going to be ready.

"So, what is for dinner?" Jimmy asked as he walked back in the kitchen squeezing past his wife to get his beer.

"Scalloped potatoes and ham," Margaret replied. "It'll be out of the oven in twenty minutes."

"Sounds good," Jimmy said as he slumped on the couch next to Sally, who was coloring, to watch whatever was on TV. He turned to Bill, "What are we watching?"

"Your wife insists on making us watch the President's speech. Said something about being good citizens or some shit like that," Bill replied.

"Watch the language, Bill," Margaret yelled from the kitchen. "If you don't like what you're watching, you've got your own TV at your own house."

"Vicky took the TV with her," Bill replied referring to his most recent ex-wife.

Woody and Sally were lying on the family room floor looking about as bored as one could. Finally, Woody couldn't stand sitting there anymore, "Do we have to watch this?" he asked in a whine.

Jimmy gave his wife a look asking for permission to send the kids outside and she nodded.

"Put your coats on and don't get dirty. We are going to be eating soon," Margaret admonished her children as they ran towards the door.

"What's this speech about?" Jimmy asked as they made the announcement that the President was about to make his address.

"He's supposed to be announcing that all the troops are coming home or at least that was what they were saying on the radio this afternoon," Margaret replied.

"Wow. That's good. Peace would be nice for a change," Jimmy replied.

Bill shook his head. "Maybe he's preparing for a war with China or Iran or one of those Axis of Evil countries or something."

"Bill, why do you have to be so negative?" Jimmy asked with annoyance.

Before anymore could be said, the picture vanished into fuzz. "Margaret, cable's out again."

"I know…what was that?" Margaret asked as she heard something on the roof. "Jimmy, Woody's on the roof again!"

Jimmy didn't move.

"Jimmy!"

"What do you want me to do about it?" Jimmy asked from his comfortable spot on the couch.

"Fine! I'll take care of it like I take care of everything else!" Margaret yelled as she headed out the back door to get her son off the roof.

"I think you're in trouble," Bill said with a smirk.

Jimmy rolled his eyes and then tried to remember where the cable wires were and whether Woody would've gotten into them up on the roof. It was then that he heard a second set of foot steps on the roof and Jimmy realized that he was going to have to get up. "I better get out there and see what's going on. I have a feeling I'm going to be spending the evening at the emergency room."

Jimmy got up and ran outside to see his wife slowly guiding a clearly shook up Woody back to where she'd put a ladder against the side of the house. "What happened?" Jimmy asked as he climbed up the ladder half-way to help get Woody down. "He didn't get into the cable wires or something?"

Margaret silently shook her head and Jimmy quickly realized that his wife was in the same state of shock as his son. Jimmy gently took Woody in his arms and walked him down the ladder. Finally when Woody was on the ground, Jimmy went back up to help his wife down. "What's the matter?" Jimmy asked.

In a whisper, Margaret replied, "Come and look for yourself."

Jimmy climbed the ladder the rest of the way to the roof and climbed up. As he heard the wood creak beneath his feet, he prayed that it would hold his weight. He didn't want to buy a new roof. "Margaret, what the hell am I doing up here? What did Woody do?"

It was when Jimmy was standing on the roof facing west that he was able to see what had freaked out both his son and his wife; a white mushroom cloud over what looked to be Denver. As he swallowed back panic, he took Margaret's hand and gently guided her to the ladder.

Once everyone was back in the house, Jimmy immediately tried to phone the station, but the phone was dead. "Phone's dead. What do we do?"

"Don't look at me man," Bill replied as he nervously started buttoning his shirt back up.

Margaret was already at the oven shutting it off. "Going to the Mayor's house is what we are doing."

"Somebody's probably already told him," Bill complained.

Jimmy shook his head. "What are the chances that anyone else was on their roof? Otherwise, there are very few places in town that have a clear view of the western sky," Jimmy answered. "Margaret's right. We need to head to the Mayor's house." He turned to his wife. "Maybe you and the kids should stay here."

Margaret looked over at her kids who were sitting on the couch in a daze and got in close to her husband. "If the world is coming to end, I think we should be together."

"She's right," Bill agreed. "This could be the first wave in the attack. I think there's a bomb shelter under the town hall."

Jimmy shook his head at the pair. Bill always went over the deep end, but his wife was usually level headed. He could only blame her current attitude on a lack of sleep. In a hushed town, "First, for all we know it was just an accident. It could have been nothing. Second…" Jimmy looked at his wife who was giving him a dirty look. He knew he'd lost the fight. "Ah hell, come on. We'll all go. Margaret, follow us in the car." Jimmy quickly started getting himself together as he tried to squelch the panic that was beginning to fester again. He knew this was going to be a long, hellish night.


End file.
